Process and means for extracting petroleum



Aug. 7, 1928.

1,679,683 J. L. RICH PRoqEss AND MEANS Fox EiTRAcTING PETROLEUM Filed Jan. 2 1926 MVL.

ATTORNEYS through such the hole.

fluids introduced through a bore hole be-' Patented Aug. 7, 1928.

UNITED sTA JOHN L. RICH, OF OT'JIAHA, KANSAS.

rnoonss Ann MEANSFOR Ex'rRAo'rInG PETROLEUM.

Application filed January 25, 1926. Serial No. 83,731

invention relates to improvements in processes and means for extracting petroleum, and it consists in the steps hereinafter described, and in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein de scribed and claimed. I

Core testing of typical oil sands has revealed the fact that the sands, as a rule,are not homogeneous bodies, but consist of numerous layers, stringers, and larger masses, commonly known as lenses, of sand embedded in a most intricate manner in a matrix of less pure and more or less impervious sand or sandy shale, so that the flow of fluids a sand body must be by a devious path 5. Many of the stringers and lenses of more pervious sand are entirely surrounded by relatively impervious material, so that the movement of fluids into or out of them is practically impossible.

lVh ere' such a sand body carries oil, it is well known that considerable quantities of oil are prevented by impervious barriers from finding their way to a bore hole and become permanently trapped in such stringers and lenses. Likewise, when fluids such as air or water are introduced into an oil sand through certain of the bore holes for the pin-pose of forcing oil out into adjacent bore holes, not all of the oil in the mined portion would be conveyed to other bore holes; This is due to the fact that the bore hole convey-' ing the fluidunder pressure maynot communicate with one of the'lenses, and 1f this be true, it will. be seen that it will be impossible to force the oil vfrom the lens intoanothcr one of the bore holes, Another reason lies in the fact that even though the bore hole carrying the fluid under pressure should communicate with a lens, it will very likely happen. that the other bore holes for receiving the oil may not comn'iunicate with that particular lens. It will therefore clearly appear that many of the,

lenses may stillhave'oil therein which is not removed. A disadval itage of applyingflulds' under that the area of the bore hole is so small that the pressure applied to it is rapidly dissipated radially, because the. fluid introduced through the bore holermust spread over an ever-widening area which increases in proportion to the square of the distance, from As a result, the movement of comes very slow at a comparatively short distance from the hole.

Another disadvantage arises when the oil bearing stratum is down a considerable distance in theground, in that when the water has been forced from one bore hole to another, and it is desired to again force this water from the first bore hole to the second,

the water must be lifted to the surface of the ground beforeit is again forced into the first bore hole; This of course takes considerable time, labor and expense.

An object of my invention is to provide an improvement over the process set forth in my prior Patent No. 1,507 ,7 07, of September 19, 1924, in which the use of tunnels adjacent to the oil-bearing sand and channels or slits connected therewith are disclosed. The improvement consists in modifying certain of the channels after they have served their purpose as drainage channels, so as to make use of these channels as pressure transmitting conduits for forcing the oil into other channels, thereby obviating the necessity of drilling special pressure transmitting conduits or pressure wells.

A further object of my invention is to provide ameans for applying pressure over a much greater area of the oil-bearing sand, and to' a great many more of the lenses and stringers of which the oil-bearing sand body is composed, than is possible through pressure wells, and thereby to procure a greatly increased yield.

A further objectof my invention is to provide a process by which the extraction of oil is greatly expedited becausethe pres sure'fluid has access to the sand along a plane, and the pressure is not dissipated radially as it is from bore holes.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel featuresi of'the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

'y invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this ap- 'pli'cation, in' whichpressure to an oil sand throughbore holes 1s Figure 1 is a vertical sectionthrough an 1 head shown operatively applied in a tunnel.

In carrying out my invention, 1 n'iay drive tunnels 1, 2 and 3 through the stratum i disposed adjacent to the oil-bearing stratum 5. While I have shown these tunnels in the drawings as being above the oil-bearing stratum 5, it is obvious that they could be below the oil-bearing stratum, or in it, in stead of in the stratum 4, if desired.

In Figure 2, I show the oil-bearing stratum 5 as being composed of a number of lenses 6. Channels 7 are cut in the oil bean ing stratum 5 and communicate with the tunnels. Of course a shaft, not shown, communicates with the tunnels and permits access to the tunnels from the surface of the ground. The channels 7 cut through the lenses 6, and it will be noted that all of the lenses are cut by one or more channels. The oil will therefore seep from the lenses 6 into the channels 7 from which it may be pumped to the surface of the ground. This seepage may go on for years. Finally, however, the oil will cease flowing into the channels even though the lenses 6 may still hold a considerable quantity of oil. This oil is now forced into the channels 7 communicating with the tunnels 1 and 3.

In order to do this, I provide the tunnel 2, and the channel 7 connected with it, with bulk heads andvdispose these bull: heads so as to close off a section of the tunnel, togethcr with its associated channel. It is obvious that the bulkheads may be of any shape desired, the principal object being to seal a section of the tunnehand its channel, thus causing the pressure fluid which is forced into the tunnel 2 to flow toward the tunnels 1 and 3 rather than in a direction parallel with the longitudinal axis of the tunnel 2. In the present form of the device, I show the bulk heads 8 as being made 7 of concrete or other cementitious material, these bulk heads being provided with a wedge shaped peripheral wall 9 conforming ,to the roof of the tunnel and with the devending cylindrical portion 10.

The purpose of the wedge-shaped portion 9 is to prevent the blowing out of the bulk heads. This wedge-shaped portion is embedded in the stratum 4 which usually consists of shale. The cylindrical portion 10 has a diameter greater than the width of' the channel 7, and the lowermost end of this portion projects into the stratum 11 disposed directly beneath the stratum 5.

Before the bulk heads harden, I preferably dispose pipes 12 in the bull; heads, these pipes extending to the surface of the ground and having their lowermost ends communicating with the interior of the tunnel 2. It is not necessarythat the pipes extend to the surface of the ground, since these pipes may extend tosome other tunnel from whichv fluid may be admitted to the pipes under pressure, whereby the fluid will completely ill the tunnel 2. When enough pressure is applied, the fluid will force its way through the oil-bearing stratum 5 and will drive the oil into the adjacent channels 7. This oil may then be pumped upto the surface of the ground. It will be noted that substantially all of the oil will be forced from the lenses 6 into the right and left hand channels 7 shown in Figure 1.

After the fluid has been driven through in this manner, it may again be forced from the central channel 7 to the outer channels. This may be accomplished without the necessity of pumping the water from the tunnels l and 3 to the surface of the ground. The pumps may be installed in the tunnels l and S, and the water pumped back to the tunnel 2 where it is subsequently again forced through the oil-bearing stratum.

In practicing the process, new tunnels and channels may be cut. for the expresspurpose of introducing fluids into the sand, or tunnels and channels formerly used for oil drainage may be converted into pressure tunnels in the manner described.

I claim: I

1. The herein described process of extracting petroleum which consists in running tunnels through the stratum adj acent. to the petroleunrbearing stratum, extending channels from the tunnels into the petroleumbearing stratum, blockading the ends of certain of the tunnels and their associated channels, forcing fluid under pressure into the blockaded tunnels, whereby the petroleum will be forced into the unblocked channels, removing the petroleum from the last named channels, and pumping the pressure fluid directly into the blocked tunnels.

2. The herein described process of extract.- ing petroleum'which consists in running a plurality of spaced-apart tunnels through the stratum adjacent to the petroleum-bearing stratum, extending channels from said tunnels through the petroleum-bearing stratuin, blockading the ends of certain of said tunnels and their associated channels, and

circulating a fluid under pressure from said bloclraded tunnels through said petroleumbearing. stratum to the unblocked channels and back to the blocked tunnels.

3. The herein described process of extracting petroleum which consists in digging tunnels through the stratum adjacent to the petroleum-bearing stratum, digging channels through the lenses in the petroleumbearing stratum, these channels communicating with the tunnels, blockading the endsof certain of the tunnels and their associated channels, forcing the fluid under pressure into the blockaded tunnels, whereby the pe- I troleum will be forced into the channels, ad-

nels.

jacent to the blockaded tunnels, and removing the petroleum from the last named chani. The herein described process of extracting petroleum which consists in digging channels through the lenses in a petroleumbearing stratum, blockading certain of said channels, admitting fluid under pressure to the blocked channels, whereby the petroleum will be forced into the channels disposed adjacent to the blocked channels, and subsequently returning the fluid from the last named channels to the iblocka ded channels without raising the fluid to the surface of the ground, and again forcing this fluid through the petroleum-bearing stratum.

5. A device of the type described'coinprising tunnels disposed adjacent to a petroleum-bearing stratum, channels disposed in said petroleum-bearing stratum and communicating with said tunnels, means for blockading the ends of certain of the tunnels and their associated channels, means for conveying a fluid under pressure into the blockaded tunnels, whereby the petroleum will be forced into the channels disposed adjacent to the blockaded tunnels.

6. A device of the type described comprising tunnels disposed adjacent to a petroleui'n-bearing stratum, channels disposed in said petroleum-bearing stratum and communicating with said tunnels, means for blockading the ends of certain of the tunnels and their associated channels, means for conveying a fluid under pressure into the blockaded tunnels, whereby the petroleum will be forced into the channels disposed adjacent to the blockaded tunnels, and means for returning the fluid to the blockaded tunnels and for again forcing the fluid through the petroleum-bearingstratum.

7. In a device of the type described, a tunnel, a bulk head disposed in said tunnel, a channel commnicating with said tunnel, said bulk head being fashioned to close the end of said tunnel and channel, and being partially received in the stratum disposed above and below the petroleum-bearing stratum.

JOHN L. RICH. 

